Michael Francis Jude Goodman was born in Escondido, California, on March 23, 1950, to J.D. and Barbara Jean Goodman. Michael died in Eureka on March 31, 2026.

Michael first came to Humboldt County in 1973 to pursue a BA degree in Philosophy at Humboldt State. He graduated and married his beloved wife, Hollie Ann (née Shaffer), in 1975. Michael then took an MA in Philosophy from San Diego State in 1978 and a PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State in 1986.

He was hired as a lecturer at Humboldt State in 1984, secured a tenure-track position, in 1987, and climbed the ranks to full Professor of Philosophy. Michael retired in 2023. His areas of specialization in scholarship and teaching were logic, philosophy of science, epistemology and the philosophy of David Hume, although as a junior faculty he taught many different courses, such as the history of philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics/ontology, philosophy of law and moral philosophy/ethics. Michael published four books in philosophy and many papers in philosophical journals. One of his favorite academic activities was to read papers at conferences. He delivered papers in Oxford (UK), New York, Athens (Greece), Cordoba (Argentina), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor (Michigan) and many other places. Michael had an abiding love of classical literature, with a special place in his heart for Shakespeare and Dickens.

Michael contracted polio as an 18-month-old in 1951. Paralyzed from the waist down for eight months, he received daily therapy at the Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Multiple surgeries occurred over the years and he was ultimately able to engage in many sports activities. He was most passionate about surfing, baseball and racquetball. He couldn’t run fast but he always gave it all he had, whatever he tried. Music was another driving force in Michael’s life.

He was a musician and songwriter; he recorded 29 albums of music and played acoustic and electric guitars, bass, harmonica and some keyboard. He never liked the sound of his singing voice but he tried hard anyway.

Michael started surfing at Tamarak, in Carlsbad, in 1962. His last surf session was in Crescent City in 2011. He loved the waves, the salt water, the freedom of movement, bottom turns, cutbacks, some nose riding, trimming and just riding. He joined the short-board movement in 1967-68. His love of surfing as an activity was unmatched. Michael’s second sport love was baseball, played Little League, Pony League and tried to play in high school but was cut from the team because he couldn’t run fast. He never got over that. In the early 90s, he made friends with some people when he was coaching Little League in Arcata and joined their softball team. Some of the best fun he ever had, he said.

As to racquetball, he learned to play in 1976 and decided that he wanted to get good at the sport. He progressed and in 1977 wrote an article about strategies that players with some physical challenges could use. The article was published and the racquetball company Ektelon offered him a player contract. He ended up playing professional racquetball for Ektelon for about 5 years. A great bit of fun and it kept him in good shape. The other thing that Michael really loved to do was take his boat out on Big Lagoon fishing for trout and steelhead. He often said that being on the water was some kind of substitute for not being able to surf anymore.

Michael is survived by his beloved spouse, Hollie; their children Matthew (Catheline) Goodman, Anna Goodman, Jay (Lauren) Goodman, and Moira Pitlock; grandchildren Caleb Pitlock, Faith Pitlock, Grayson Pitlock, Cibella Goodman, Adlei Goodman and Jack Goodman; brothers John (Colleen) & Mark (Eileen) and their families; sister Mary Rojas and her husband Tony Rojas; and his brother-in-law Mark Shaffer. He is also survived by his dearest friends Don & Karen Bale of Vista, Calif., Steve Castaneda of San Juan Capistrano, Frank Caetano of Arcata, Ed Hirsch of Arcata, John McGuire of Eureka, Ben Marschke of McKinleyville, Stan Mortel of East Lansing, Michigan, and Jimmy Foot of McKinleyville.

Michael was a devoted parishioner of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Arcata. He was a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus and he greatly valued the many friends he made in the church and in the Knights, and also the lawn crew.

Funeral information below:

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Arcata, 11 o’clock on Tuesday the 7th, with a reception at his home following the service.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Michael Goodman’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Carl (Mike) Pullen was born and raised in Fairfield, California. From birth, he was blessed with a strong body and a handsome face. But it was his brilliant mind — paired with a rare ability to apply knowledge in practical, effective ways — that truly set him apart.

Mike was an only child, the son of an only child, and that independence often showed once you knew him well. Knowing Mike taught those close to him how to appreciate the good in people and forgive — or sometimes simply overlook — the rest. After all, life itself is a mixed bag.

Mike graduated from Fairfield High School in 1975 and went on to attend a two-year diesel mechanic trade school in Tennessee. After completing his training, he returned to Fairfield, where he owned and operated a decorative iron shop.

During those years, Mike drove a cammed-out, performance ’69 Mach 1, which he regretted selling until the day he died. He was lucky to have a grandfather, Royce Pullen, who managed the machine shop, as a civilian, at Travis Air Force Base, and together they built a blueprinted street-strip motor. For the muscle car enthusiast, Mike described his cherished Mach 1 like this: “It was a three-fifty-one Windsor, bored thirty-over with TRW forged slugs, a lumpy Crane cam, and Harland Sharp roller rockers up top. It had a seven- fifty Holley double-pumper feeding it, and it would twist to six-five-hundred all night.” For the rest of us, it was a race car barely pretending to be a street car and Mike loved to race it around town.

In 1985, Mike married local Fairfield beauty Shelley Culotty. Together they were blessed with two sons, Nolan Pullen and Trevor Pullen, both of whom have grown into stand-up men. Nolan and his wife, Marissa Estrada Pullen, further blessed Mike with two beautiful grandchildren, Bryce Pullen, age seven, and Byrdie Pullen, age three, who brought him great joy and pride. Mike loved being a father. He taught his boys how to hunt and fish, how to weld, and how to work with their hands — skills they carried to the highest levels and which made him deeply proud.

Following his marriage, Mike made several career transitions. He became a certified welder and worked in gas refineries, then spent a few years maintaining grounds for the Fairfield School District.

In 1989, Mike began studying for the Hospital Inspector of Record (IOR) exam through the State of California’s Office of Statewide Planning and Development Department. At the time of his death, Mike still held a valid class A, IOR license, bearing one of the oldest active numbers in the state.

After receiving his certification, Mike worked at a Northbay Hospital in Fairfield for several years before making the move to Redcrest, in 2007. He fell in love with Humboldt County and often declared he would never leave — and he never did. He spent countless hours exploring the backroads on his Harley and hiking alongside the South Fork of the Eel River with his dogs, Beastie, Chloe, and Evie. He often said that while he may not live in the most beautiful place on earth, there is no place more beautiful than Humboldt County.

Mike served as the Inspector of Record for Saint Joseph and Redwood Memorial Hospitals for almost sixteen years. During his tenure, he worked with numerous design teams and construction crews, closing many complex projects — most on time and within budget. Mike was accomplished, and if you asked his partner of twenty-two years, Denise Eastham Phelps, she would tell you that bringing Mike home to Humboldt County to perform hospital project inspections was one of the best things she ever did for her community.

When it came to his work, Mike always focused on efficiency, integrity, and cost-effective outcomes. He often said, “I always ask myself what’s in the best interest of the project — that’s my focus.” He would have wanted that principle remembered.

Mike battled Type II diabetes for many years without complaint. After enduring several amputations in recent years, he succumbed to acute kidney failure on January 3, 2026, at the age of sixty-eight, in the ICU at Saint Joseph Hospital in Eureka.

It is often only when life is ending — or has ended — that we truly grasp how short it is: a highly perishable product with a fixed expiration date. We spend the first half building it and the second half trying to keep it from falling apart. Not long before his death, Mike said, “I’d rather be under construction when I die.” And so he was.

Gratitude is at the heart of finding good in the world — especially in our relationships with the ones we love. Mike is deeply missed by those who knew and loved him.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Mike Pullen’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.: We’re live!

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The Shasta County League of Women Voters — love the League! — will host the first big Congressional candidates forum of the cycle at the beautiful Cascade Theater in downtown Redding this afternoon, starting at 5 p.m., and we are told that KRCR-TV will live-stream the thing on its YouTube page.

Tune in! It should be fun. Redding was only soldered on to the progressive-heavy Second Congressional District last year, as part of Gavin Newsom’s big gerrymander (and/or counter-gerrymander) initiative, and no doubt some Reddingites still resent the fact. There will be some culture clash, for sure.

Incumbent Jared Huffman, who has represented the North Coast since 2012, will be in attendance, as will candidates Gregory Burgess (no party), Tim Geist (R), Robin Littau (R), Paul Saulsbury (R), Angelita Valles (R) and Rose Yee (D). Nicolette Hahn Niman, who made a splash when she entered the race a couple of weeks ago, will be absent, alas.

See you in the YouTube comments! We’ll come back to this post and embed the live stream when it begins, if we can.

PREVIOUSLY

• ‘Outdated in Terms of Design, Functionality, Accessibility, and User Experience’: Arcata to Consider Giving its Tourism Website a Facelift
• Arcata City Council May Axe Public Safety Committee

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Arcata’s city council members voted pretty much as expected on the two most interesting items on last night’s agenda — but not without a smattering of controversy. 

Tourism Website

VisitArcata.com is supposed to be Arcata’s all-purpose destination for tourists interested in exploring the area, but it’s a bit dilapidated. It’s not very accessible or easy to navigate; some of the information on the site is out-of-date; none of it is pleasing aesthetically. City manager Merritt Perry said that organizations like Humboldt Made and the Arcata Chamber of Commerce had told him that it was one of the worst in the county. (The chamber’s executive director Meredith Maier told the Outpost earlier this week she’d like to take the site over completely.)

The city is in charge of running it, but staff have little time and money to update it. “The whole problem is that we haven’t really spent any money on it historically,” finance director Tabatha Miller said; councilmember Alex Stillman decided it’d be worth it to ask staff to investigate.

An item allowing city staff to take some time to decide what the site needed and consider issuing a notice telling potential contractors that they were accepting bids to revamp it was included on the consent calendar. Councilmember Stacy Atkins-Salazar pulled it for discussion. She had some quibbles with allotting up to $25,000 for the project and wanted to wait until the city had completed its economic strategic plan, and said she thought Arcata’s Instagram was serving them well enough. 

Stillman disagreed. With the summer and peak tourist season approaching, it’d be valuable to make the website usable as quickly as possible. “It’s not doing as much as it could do,” she said. “And it’s really important, I think, with the economy, and what’s going on, to really see if we can’t attract and promote what we have.”

The other councilmembers present thought spending the time investigating the redesign options was worth it, but spending the money wasn’t. The proposed $25,000 would have come out of a $269,000 fund the council uses for community projects, such as last year’s Friday Night Markets and the Choose Humboldt campaign. The council set aside $100,000 from that fund for supporting the completion of the economic strategic plan. 

It’s not a lot of money considering the scope of the project, city manager Perry said. “Updating a website and staying on top of it for tourism and marketing is a huge effort,” he said. “$25,000 is actually a small part of that.”

Atkins-Salazar proposed that they direct the city to decide how they wanted to change the website, and then authorize spending the money when the plan was completed; the council voted 3-1 in favor of the idea. (Stillman voted “no”; Meredith Matthews was absent.)

Even if they did kick in the funds, it’s probably too late for the site to make a difference anyway, council member Sarah Schaefer said. 

“If we want to be quick on this, we should have done this back in January to have a website ready by tourism season,” she said. “Even if we’d go forward on this, it’s not going to be attracting people to Oysterfest, attracting people to North Country Fair, enjoying this lovely summer weather that we have away from the heat. It’s not going to be ready by then anyway…these things take time. We know the pace of government.”

Public Safety Committee

Arcata’s public safety committee, a citizen-led body dedicated to talking about public safety issues and giving its recommendations to the city council, hasn’t met since April 2023. Save for a representative from the Arcata Police Department, it has no members. Every month, city staff put out a notice telling the public its monthly meeting has been cancelled, and the inconvenience has become too annoying — so the city council decided to debate axing it. 

It was established in 2016 after a 28-year-old man assaulted a student near Arcata Elementary School, and it had some eager members for the first few years of its existence, said APD Chief Chris Ortega. But after a while, enthusiasm flagged, and people started to quit. Meetings were unable to achieve a quorum. Ortega said only two people applied for a position since it last met, despite the city’s efforts to fill them. 

Killing the committee wouldn’t impact residents’ ability to share their public safety concerns, Ortega said. The committee was not a “functioning body.” City council meetings, where any resident can share their input with the city, fill pretty much the same niche, he said, and there’s “ongoing engagement” between APD, elected officials, city hall, and the community.

“[Ending the committee] does not change public safety services policies, priorities, or accountability mechanisms,” Ortega said. “It simply updates the municipal code by removing a committee that is no longer active.”

Several public commenters disagreed, saying ending the committee would reduce police oversight; Sarah Schaefer clarified that it was never a police oversight committee, though there might be a place for that in the future.

“They weren’t reviewing cases,” she said. “They weren’t reviewing police conduct. They were mostly just making recommendations on various pet projects in the community or needs that they saw or heard about from the public.”

“Oftentimes, the work of these task forces can sunset, and it loses that momentum, and loses the energy behind it because the historical memory is gone,” Schaefer continued. “I think going back to the true root, and what we want, is an important part. Right now repealing this committee makes sense.”

The council voted unanimously in favor of nixing the committee.

A previous version of this article said that the committee was established after the killing of Josiah Lawson instead of an assault on an elementary schooler. The Outpost regrets the error.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Eureka City Schools Board Member Resigns, Opening a Spot For Candidates Who Live in This One Section of Town

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Press release from Eureka City Schools:

At a special meeting on March 31, 2026, the Eureka City Schools Governing Board voted to provisionally appoint Jess Pettitt to serve as Trustee for Area 5. Pettitt will complete the remainder of Jessica Rebholtz’s term, which runs through December 2026.

Pettitt. Profile picture via LinkedIn.

Pettitt, a longtime Eureka resident of 20 years, brings a broad background in education, facilitation, and community-based work. A professional speaker by profession, Pettitt has worked across K-12 and higher education settings, including teaching, curriculum development, mediation, and supporting educators and organizations throughout the region.

The Board conducted interviews with all applicants during the special meeting, asking each candidate to reflect on their experience, connection to Eureka City Schools, and approach to governance. The conversation also focused on the role of a trustee as part of a governance team - balancing accountability, maintaining clear boundaries, and making decisions that reflect the needs of learners and the broader community.

Throughout the process, candidates were asked to speak to issues aligned with ECS’s Designing Tomorrow framework, including equitable access for learners, transparent communication, and the ability to navigate complex or difficult conversations with care and integrity.

Pettitt’s responses reflected a strong belief in public schools as safe spaces that build both academic skills and a sense of belonging, emphasizing curiosity, collaboration, and community connection. She also highlighted the importance of honest, human-centered communication across all parts of a school system to build trust and strengthen relationships.

“As a former teacher myself, getting involved in my local community is important to me, and what better way than serving as an appointed member on the Board of Trustees?” Pettitt asks. “Schools are safe spaces in my neighborhood, serve as polling places, meeting spaces, and serve my neighbors as an employer, and where their children become life-long leaders and learners.”

Superintendent Gary Storts shared, “Jess’s appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to strong, learner-centered governance. She brings both professional expertise and a genuine passion for public schools as places of belonging and opportunity. I look forward to partnering with her and the Board as we continue shaping a future-ready system for all learners.”

Pettitt will be officially seated at the regular board meeting on April 9, 2026.

The provisional appointment allows the Board to continue its work without interruption while staying focused on its goals for students and the community.

For more information about Eureka City Schools, visit this link.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On April 1st, 2026 Officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to a residence at the 3500 Block of M St for a report of a burglary.

Upon arrival, officers met with the victim, who reported that an unknown suspect gained access to the residence and stole a large amount of jewelry. Video surveillance indicates the incident occurred on March 31st, 2026, between approximately 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. The suspect was observed wearing an orange facial covering at the time of the incident.

This case remains an open and active investigation.

EPD is requesting anyone with information related to this incident, or anyone who can identify the suspect in the photo or video surveillance contact the Criminal Investigations Unit at 707-441-4300.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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California Republicans have an unusual shot of claiming an upset victory in the governor’s race this year — but to win, neither of their candidates can get too far ahead of the other just yet.

With eight major Democratic candidates splitting the liberal vote, both Republican candidates, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could come in first and second in the June 2 primary and move on to the November ballot.

That would shut out Democratic general election candidates, an extraordinary event that pollsters and strategists of both parties agree is the only viable chance for a Republican to become governor. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two-to-one in California and the GOP hasn’t won a statewide race in two decades.

Both Republicans can only advance to November if they split the Republican vote essentially evenly, giving each enough to surpass their Democratic opponents. That’s thanks to California’s top-two primary system, in which the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election regardless of their party.

Democrats insist it won’t happen, though they face mounting pressure over the risk in a year when the party is hoping to turn out liberal voters for U.S. House races in November.

And neither Republican is strategizing to shut the Democrats out. Instead of trying to keep the other alive through the primary, Hilton and Bianco are running campaigns like any other candidate: seeking to defeat each other. Hilton has spent the past few months attempting to consolidate Republican support by attacking Bianco, who has been happy to return the ire.

“There’s an amazing irony there, that they need to beat each other but they both need to succeed at the same time,” GOP strategist Rob Stutzman said. “It cuts against human nature and cuts against the way you put together campaigns.”

An intra-Republican primary

Despite very different backgrounds, Hilton and Bianco are running on similar policies.

Hilton is a British political strategist who’s written extensively about populism, reducing bureaucracy and decentralizing power, and Bianco is a bombastic local sheriff who is pushing the boundaries of police authority over elections.

Both are pushing a deregulation agenda, railing against Democratic-backed environmental policies they blame for raising the state’s cost of living. Their targets include the landmark California Environmental Quality Act, which requires environmental reviews for new construction.

Both Republicans also want to reverse prison closures, boost oil production to lower gas prices and reduce or eliminate the 61-cents-a-gallon gas tax.

Hilton wants to shield the first $100,000 of earnings from the state income tax (a goal Democrat Katie Porter shares) and significantly lower taxes on higher earners by cutting 18% of the state budget, including areas he claims are fraudulent or wasteful such as using cannabis tax revenue to support substance abuse programs. Bianco also wants to cut, and bring in oil revenues to eliminate the income tax entirely.

Hilton, one of the race’s top fundraisers, has raised more than $6.6 million so far, exceeding Bianco’s haul by more than $2 million. The two are second and third to Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter in the total number of campaign donors — one measure of popular support.

Polls show they remain neck-and-neck at or near the top of the pack, with one survey released last week by the California Democratic Party showing Hilton and Bianco statistically tied with 16% and 14%, respectively. To be competitive, they each need to win over independent and undecided voters, some of whom lean Republican and most of whom are fixated on the state’s cost of living crisis. The California Republican Party is slated to take an endorsement vote at its convention next weekend.

Each has tried to outrank the other on conservative credentials.

Hilton has attacked Bianco for having “too much baggage” related to liberal causes, pointing to a video showing the sheriff kneeling during the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests, as many police officers did then to de-escalate crowds, and later describing his actions as praying. Under Trump, the FBI this year fired several agents who had done the same.

“It’s a question of character and honesty and judgment,” Hilton said in an interview.

Bianco pointed to the two Republicans’ continued tie in the polls as proof Hilton can’t carry the party. He’s called Hilton, who worked for the conservative U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, “a fraud amongst Republicans” in part because a political crowdfunding startup Hilton co-founded in 2013, Crowdpac, later rebranded to exclusively support Democrats.

And each has aimed to align himself with Trump without saying the president’s name directly. While both are vocal fans of the president, nearly three-quarters of California voters disapprove of him, and Democratic voters in particular are motivated this year to vote against the president’s agenda. Hilton and Bianco have both blasted Democrats for linking the gubernatorial race to Trump.

Hilton, who once called for an audit into Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, is promoting “CalDOGE,” a program to look into reports of fraud and waste in California government. It’s a nod to Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that slashed federal spending and employment last year. So far, as part of the project, Hilton has held press conferences criticizing state grants to nonprofits with advocacy wings that support liberal causes, like stricter environmental laws and holding voter registration drives; he’s vowed to cut them as governor.

Bianco, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 re-election by saying America should “put a felon in the White House,” told KTLA last fall if he had the president’s support he’d downplay it on the campaign trail. Asked last week if he’s seeking the president’s approval, he said he instead wants “the endorsement of every single person in this country.”

“You have an entire Democrat field trying to label me as Donald Trump, and the reason why is because they have absolutely nothing to run on,” he said in an interview.

He has embarked on an unprecedented effort in Riverside County to recount ballots from last year’s special election based on what local elections officials say is inaccurate and flawed raw ballot data, a move that mirrors the Trump administration’s seizure of 2020 ballots in Georgia. But Bianco has insisted it’s not political. The investigation, he said this week, is on hold amid legal challenges.

Who is Bianco?

The ballot seizure is one of the many ways Bianco has courted controversy as county sheriff, a seat to which he was first elected in 2018 with hefty campaign contributions from the union that represents sheriff’s deputies.

The three-decade law enforcement officer and one-time member of the far-right militia group Oath Keepers gained attention in 2020 for fighting state orders to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, refusing to enforce masking or stay-at-home rules or to mandate vaccination for deputies. He also opposes school vaccination laws.

He’s often criticized the state’s sanctuary law that limits police cooperation with federal immigration agents, simultaneously insisting he’ll do everything he legally can to help immigration agents but clarifying to Riverside County residents that deputies do not enforce immigration laws and take reports of crimes from anyone. He’s presided over a spike in deaths in county jails that he’s attributed to fentanyl and suicides, though the state attorney general’s office has opened an investigation.

He has ties to an evangelical pastor in Temecula who helps elect Christian conservatives and is pushing to increase the influence of Christianity in government.

His pitch to voters is that he’s an outsider — and he’s prone to using hyperbole to prove it, calling environmental activists who sue to stop development “terrorists,” promising to “completely destroy special interests” and saying if elected he’d “take a nuclear bomb” to the decisions made in California government.

He’s running, he said, to offer a change from the “crime and corruption” he says has defined state politics and claims he’s the only candidate with strong executive experience (though several Democratic opponents have led state or federal agencies, or major cities.)

He’s endorsed by several law enforcement groups, some of which have also jointly endorsed a Democrat, and funded by campaign contributions from dozens of officers and police chiefs, various business owners and the powerful Peace Office Research Association of California, a special interest with outsize influence at the Capitol. The law enforcement association extends to his title as Riverside sheriff on the ballot, which will give him an edge over Hilton, GOP strategists say.

“Every other person in this race is nothing but a career politician,” he said. “We’re over career politicians, millionaires, billionaires, bright, shiny objects and career politicians and strategists. California is sick of that.”

Who is Hilton?

Hilton, meanwhile, is making lofty promises like $3-a-gallon gas and halving electricity bills, and says he has experience from London to achieve such cuts.

The son of Hungarian immigrants to Britain, Hilton got his start in the Conservative Party there before moving to the private sector and returning to politics as Cameron’s director of strategy from 2010 to 2012.

The British press noted Hilton’s penchant for casual dress and credited him as the ideological force pushing the party to loosen workplace regulations, cut welfare, shrink the size of government, lower taxes and withdraw from the European Union. Hilton was disillusioned with Cameron’s progress, the Washington Post reported, when he left his team after two years to join his wife, tech executive Rachel Whetstone, in California and take a sabbatical at Stanford. The couple still maintain several properties in central London.

“The government has lost its ultimate radical,” The Economist declared of his departure from 10 Downing Street in 2012. “In his visceral disdain for the state, reverence for local communities and commitment to enterprise, he might be the most deeply conservative figure at the very top of this government.”

He founded Crowdpac in 2013 with two partners, a Stanford professor and a Google executive, with the stated goal of getting more people engaged in politics by using software to match their views with candidates they could support financially. The platform, he highlighted at the time, was used by a Black Lives Matter leader to crowdfund a run for Baltimore mayor and by anti-Trump Republicans hoping for a Paul Ryan presidential run. In 2015, he wrote a column in the Guardian supporting a higher minimum wage in Britain and walking back his own prior campaigns against one.

Years later, Hilton left the platform when Crowdpac, having mostly been used by Democrats, stopped helping Republican candidates in what executives called “a stand against Trumpism.” It later shut down and relaunched again as a Democrats-only platform. By then, Hilton had already endorsed Trump for president in 2016 and landed a weekly Fox News show, which ran from 2017 to 2023. He’s now returned fully to his conservative roots, pushing to “massively reduce spending” and regulation the same way he did in the U.K.

“I have a very clear message of change that’s practical and positive and not ideological,” he told CalMatters.

Hilton has raised the third most in the race, behind Democrats Tom Steyer, a self-funding billionaire, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who has pulled in millions of dollars primarily from Silicon Valley. Hilton has put $200,000 of his own money into his campaign, and counts among his supporters Uber, Fox Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech executives who have also supported Democrats: Google founder Sergey Brin and Ripple executive Chris Larsen.

Will Democrats really be shut out of the race?

Experts say a Democratic shutout is unlikely, unless the field remains entrenched.

“It depends upon those two Republican candidates who are splitting the Republican vote fairly evenly right now, doing that, and then having more than a half a dozen Democrats with no one that is a leading favorite, which is what we’ve seen so far,” said Mark Baldassare, director of polling at the Public Policy Institute of California. “But one thing I would say is it’s still early.”

Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks has also used that reasoning. He has started an incremental public pressure campaign to prompt lower-polling Democratic candidates to drop out, but the candidates have resisted so far.

Hilton, too, dismissed analyses that both Republicans must advance for either to have a shot of winning the seat, calling it a hypothetical exercise from GOP strategists.

“They don’t know what they’re talking about, I mean these are the kinds of people who have been losing for 20 years,” he said. “The idea that the Democratic Party is just going to concede California is obviously ridiculous. … It’s going to be a Republican against a Democrat.”

Bianco said he’s running against Hilton, whom he called a “career strategist,” as much as any of the Democrats. He said he hasn’t thought too much about who his opponent would be in a general election.

“It really doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’m not doing this for Republicans. I’m not doing it for Democrats, independents, anything like that.”